Seven-Year-Old Locked in Dog Cage for Christmas | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 05.15.25

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert

Here's some of our top stories this week:

Man killed over sister's stolen car. 

Cassie Ventura testified at Sean Combs trial 

Stabbing victim plays dead while sleepy perp steals his big lottery win 

Mom busted for arming son for school massacre in bizarre babysitting deal

Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alard hourly update, Breaking crime news.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Now.

Speaker 3 (00:04):
I'm Jackie Howard. Two fifty eight am, Austin, Texas. Two
young men are breaking into cars.

Speaker 4 (00:09):
MoMA, my car is gone, and I was like, we
were just out there putting stuff.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
In the car, so for you to go home.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Anthony Sallas at home in the Valley packing his sister's car,
helping her get ready to leave. Fox seven Austin spoke
with Salas's mother, Robin Alba.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
He of course heard it and like what where oh,
and he's ready to go, and I told him at y'all,
don't go, don't go.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Stay here and just call the police. Please. I know
what I'm doing, and you know when they win.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Salas didn't come home. A nine to one one call
comes into police someone has been hit near De Valley Elementary.
Anthony Sallas along with his family track the stolen car,
finding it near Ross Road. During a confrontation, Salas is shot,
then run over by the car.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Cud he's not coming back. In over Way.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Police arrest two, a twelve year old and a thirteen
year old. Copps say the boys had been targeting vehicles
throughout the night and are now facing capital murder. By
terrorist threat. Alston Police say they are looking for other suspects.
More crime and Justice news after this.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
I'm Nicole pardon.

Speaker 5 (01:26):
Cassie Ventira, the former partner of Sean Didde Combs and
one of his accusers, has spent two days delivering compelling
testimony in his federal trial concerning sex trafficking. During her statements,
she recounted the physical abuse she claims to have suffered
at Combe's hands and discussed the so called freakofs, which

(01:47):
she described as drug fueled sexual performances that he orchestrated.
The jury was presented with explicit images and videos that
Combs allegedly kept for leverage. The defense is set to
begin cross examination of Ventira today, with the expectation that
that will extend into Friday. Combs has pleaded not guilty
to a range of charges, including racketeering, conspiracies, sex trafficking,

(02:11):
and transportation for prostitution. If found guilty on all charges,
he faces a potential life sentence. Cassie Ventira has continued
her testimony, with prosecutors honing in on issues related to cohersion.
The jury was shown several pieces of evidence as Ventira
detailed the alleged instances of physical violence. She experienced multiple

(02:33):
photographs showing her injuries, including black eyes, a swollen lip
of forehead, gash, and various bruises. Approximately seven steals from
the freak Off videos depicting her alongside several escorts, which
were shown exclusively to the jury and not the public.
Ventira identified the individuals in the images to the jury,

(02:56):
saying she in fact knew them and had helped book
them as escorts. For more, Here's Crime on Lines Jackie Howard.

Speaker 6 (03:03):
She was tasked with finding escorts for the freak Offs,
but Combs always demanded to approve them. She typically handed
the escorts their cash, but the money came from Combs.
The cash and delivered by staff members. Combs always double
checked that Cassie had verified the escorts weren't undercover cops,
and that's when it hit her that the situation was

(03:23):
not legal.

Speaker 5 (03:24):
Her mother is anticipated to take the stand soon.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Blood from the top of his head all the way down.

Speaker 7 (03:32):
I'm Drew Nelson, a man in Oregon is sentenced to
nearly six years in prison for stabbing another man fifteen
times after following him home from a bar where he
won two thousand dollars in the lottery and attack. The
victim survived by playing dead until his attacker fell asleep.
It happened on the night of August seventeenth of twenty
twenty four.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
The victim had just.

Speaker 7 (03:51):
Won on a video lottery machine at Montana's Bar in
southeast Portland. As he left, sixty two year old Pablo
Figueroa followed him to the Ye East Plaza apartments on
Southeast Ash Street. Figureoa slipped through the building security gate,
shadowed the man up to his apartment, and burst in
as he opened the door. Surveillance video later showed Figaroa

(04:12):
just a few paces behind. Inside he tackled the man
and demanded the winnings. The victim handed over six hundred
and twenty four dollars, but Figueroa wanted more.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
He pulled a.

Speaker 7 (04:21):
Pocket knife and stabbed the man fifteen times in the arms,
chest and face. The victim later told police he began
to black out and decided to play dead. The victim said,
in court quote, mister Figueroa had the money and could
have left my apartment, but instead decided to sit at
my kitchen table and watch me die. He fell asleep
and eventually began to snore. When the victim heard that,

(04:43):
he opened his eyes and escaped.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
And we heard banging, we heard furniture, we heard yelling,
some type of argument. So I decided to go smoke
a cigarette, and then on my second cigarette, the stabbing
had happened.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
The neighbors speaking to Kpna. Blood all over his.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Head, his ear, his throat, his arms, his stomach, and
his legs.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
He did not look like a good friend of mine.

Speaker 7 (05:10):
Police reviewed surveillance footage and realized Figueroa had never exited
the building. They found him hiding in the trash room
and used mace to arrest him. Officers later found the
knife hidden in a cat litter box inside the apartment.
Figureoa was carrying blood stained pants and six hundred and
twenty four dollars cash. He pleaded no contests to assault
and burglary. A judge sentenced into five years ten months

(05:33):
in prison.

Speaker 2 (05:34):
He's currently being.

Speaker 7 (05:35):
Held at Coffee Creek Correctional Institution awaiting his permanent prison placement.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Figueroa has a long criminal history.

Speaker 7 (05:42):
He is a registered sex offender with prior convictions in California, Arkansas,
and Arizona, including a cold case capital murder in Texas,
for which he received three life sentences.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
He also has pending identity.

Speaker 7 (05:55):
Theft charges and a past of stealing cars using shaved keys.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
I'm Jennifer Coold. A Texas mom is facing chilling charges
after allegedly turning her own home into an armory for
her son's twisted dream becoming famous through mass targeted violence
at his middle school. Ashley Pardo is seen in her
mugshots sporting purple hair and multiple face tattoos. The thirty

(06:23):
three year old was busted for allegedly buying Ammo and
tactical gear for her child, even brushing off his alarming
violent expressions to school officials. According to a bombshell San
Antonio Police Department affidavit, this parent spoke to Ken's Five News.
For a mother to do that, it makes me feel
like what kind of mother is she to be supplying

(06:45):
her children with that. The terrifying plot began to unravel
when school officials at Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School raised red
flags about the student's disturbing behavior, including explicit threats of
a mass attack. Detectives alleged Pardo was not just aware
of her son's dark intentions. She actively fueled them, purchasing ammunition, magazines,

(07:09):
a tactical vest, a helmet, and even army clothing to
aid his scheme. The affidavit reveals that Pardo bought the
gear in exchange for her son babysitting his younger siblings.
The grandmother of the boy stumbled upon a horrifying discovery
the child hitting a live bullet with a hammer. When

(07:30):
she questioned him, he allegedly confessed his mom had given
it to him, boasting about the guns and ammo at
her house. A subsequent search of his room on earth
a makeshift ied a mortar style firework wrapped in duct tape,
along with a rifle and magazines loaded with live rounds.

(07:51):
Even more disturbing was a handwritten note referencing past masked shootings,
their perpetrators, and victim counts, including a nod to the
New Zealand christ Church mosque shooter and white supremacist symbols.
Adding to the awful picture, the boy allegedly told his
granny he was going to be famous just before Pardo

(08:12):
arrived to take him to school on the very morning
his arsenal was found. He arrived at the school that day,
wearing a mask, camouflage jacket, and tactical pants. School officials,
unable to find him immediately called the cops out a
fear of an imminent attack. Sapd's investigation revealed a disturbing pattern.

(08:34):
As early as January, school officials had concerns about the
boy's violent drawings, including a map labeled quote suicide route
end quote, and the school's name next to a rifle.
He admitted also to a fascination with past mass shooters.
In April, he was suspended for researching the christ Church
shooting on a school issued laptop, followed by a suicide

(08:58):
attempt with a straight race that required over one hundred stitches.
Despite this alarming history, Pardo allegedly dismissed her son's behavior,
even defending his quote unquote violent expressions and drawings to
authorities unbelievable. Parto was arrested and charged with aiding in

(09:18):
the commission of terrorism. She posted a seventy five thousand
dollars bond and was released. Her next core hearing is
set for July seventeenth. The child is still in custody.
For the latest crime and justice news, follow the Crime
Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app with this
crime alert. I'm Jennifer Gould.